


Qui vivra verra

by Shorknado



Series: Ghost Stories [3]
Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Idk what to tag as oops, M/M, venom as medic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-07-20 23:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16147790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shorknado/pseuds/Shorknado
Summary: Venom Snake has lived two lives. One as a human, and one as a ghost.(Set in the same "universe" as the ghost stories series, not recommended as a stand alone piece)





	1. Those who live will see

**Author's Note:**

> Back again bcs i literally cant leave venom snake alone
> 
> This is going to be a relatively linier set of short stories from Venom's perspective set in the Ghost stories "universe" id at least read p1 before jumping into this but hey ur choice
> 
> Medics codename in this is Venom Bat, venom for obvious reasons and bcs bat is described in tpp as "a name giveb to those equally skilled in the art of war" this is my interpretation of medic, i try to keep him similar to venom but *cocks gun* kojima said it was my turn om the lore

"So how did you met Big Boss?"

Bat looks down at Kaz who was laying on the floor of the helicopter arms crossed under his head with his legs dangling out the door. Kicking the open air without a care in the world. 

"I've already told you."

"Huh," Kaz grunts, unsatified with the answer, "Yeah, sure you did but...it was boring!"

"My apologies, Commander Miller."

Bat catches Kaz's hand before it can slap his kneecap, he wanted to entwine their fingers but it would be overstepping his bounds. He lets go of the hand and Kaz rests it on his chest. 

"C'mon tell it to me again, but with more je ne sais quoi. I wanna know more about you,"

"..."

"Please?"

"Fine"

\-------

Unspecified South American Jungle, Outpost 8, XX, XX, 1967

 

There's a collective sigh of relief in the tent when he enters, its not a nice thing in his opinion. 

"Where is he?" 

The soldier he addreses frowns in thought, "This way?"

Bat nods, and the soldier leads him to a bed with a whimpering man in it. He had a gunshot wound in his arm, and needed a few stitches by the looks of it. 

"Victor?" Bat asks, keeping his questions short and simple.

"Break." The soldier replies nervously. 

With a sigh, Bat gets to work. Some fucking translator he was. Barely ever around to actually do his damn job and translate for him. Whatever, this was his last patient before turning in, any other injuries will go to the night shift. No point making Victor hate him more than he already did. 

Guy was a asshole, and the only other person on this base that spoke English. 

It takes 7 minutes to extract the bullet and stitch the man up. Record time in his books. The wound should be fine in a few weeks with only a small scar to show for it.

"Gracies...ángel"

Bat holds back a grimace and nods in acknowledgment. He hates it when they all him that. He turns away to clean and disinfect his medical equipment, not planning on sticking around any more than he has too. 

When he steps out of the tent a few minutes later, he sighs into the humid air. This place was hell.. This place was hell, but home was worse. 

It was getting dark, no time to dwell on his situation out in the open. He starts his usual route to his assigned tent, maybe he would send word back to his connection for a transfer to a place where he could actually talk to another person without a proxy. He would hate to leave this base to their own devices. It was obvious that him being around raised moral and kept these men healthy. But he didn't care about their battle enough to stay. Some angel. 

Bat stop in his tracks, a strabge wet glint catching his eye.In the shrubby overgrowth just on the edge of the jungle, was a blood smeared leaf. He steps forward to inspect the blood, noticing that it was still wet. He glances into the jungle, and rests a hand on his pistol. Maybe if he was lucky a tiger would kill him. 

The trail is hard to follow, a speck or two on the ground or another leaf. Bent grass or broken twigs here and there. Whatever was leaving the trail did a good job hiding its tracks, especially if it was in pain. 

Bat frowns as a thought occurs to him, the man he just treated. The bullet wound was fresh. Sometimes guys got careless and shot themselves, that what he assumed happened. But then again he couldn't understand the conversation the guy was having with the nurse. Not to mention shooting yourself in the arm by accident isn't very plausible.

Deep in thought, he idly pushes a branch aside, and finds himself looking down at a man crouched on the ground. He was dressed in tiger stripe camo, almost blended in with the trees behind him. What didn't blend in to the trees was the pistol thr man had pointed directly at Bat's head. 

"Don't move,"

He wasn't planning on it. There was something in the man's eyes, in his stature. It was like looking at a sleeping bear, or stalking tiger. Something feral was just beneath the surface of humanity. Armed or not, this was a threat.

The mans other hand was pressing a folded gauze pad to his upper thigh, one mystery solced. Next to him was a pair of tweezers, needle, thread and disinfectant. 

It was a strange instinct that propelled Bat. He had always wanted to be a Vet, help and car for animals. People were hard to talk to, but animals? He understood them well. This man wasn't an animal no, but he had the air of something else. 

He slowly, carefully, pulls his pistol out of its holster and underhand tosses it off to the left. Out of reach of them both. Keeping his movements slow and his hands up, he approaches the other until he can kneel infront of him. The gun is close enough for the injured man to press it into his temple and blow his brains out. 

"I can help," Bat says voice soft and steady. The same voice he would use to calm rabbits and dogs.

The man meets his eyes. Its only now that Bat realizes he has an eyepatch on, and not an odd shadow from the bandana obscuring his face. He doesn't see any fear or mistrust in the steely blue eye. Only caution. 

The man nods, and lowers gun. He moves his hand away to reveal the wound on his leg. Clearly nonfatal, the man stopped the bleeding and was already halfway through extracting the bullet. Bat gets to work, completely removing the bullet before disinfecting and suturing the wound. Ge knows for a faxt this process is very painful but the man is completely still throught the entire proceeder. No grunt of pain, or twitch. 

Bat looks up after tying the gauze tight around his thigh, about to say something before the man lunges forward to grab his shoulder. Still on his knees he spins Bat around easily, putting him chokehold and pointing his gun at Bat's temple. 

At this angle he sees his translator standing a few feet away, looking incredibly smug as he watches them.

"I should have assumed you would be a traitor," Victor taunts in his heavy accent. He's flanked by two uncomfortable looking soldiers. 

"How long have you been working for Big Boss, huh? Selling him our secrets?"

Bat frowns in confusion, this guy was the Big Boss? The arm on his neck and cold gun to his head do a great job at keeping him from being able to look back and check. But he doesn't doubt Victor's claims.

Big Boss says something utterly incomprehensible, but definitely Spanish to Victor. He was always terrible with languages, hadn't picked up a word of Spanish in the two years he's been in South America, and not from lack of trying. 

The two have a small conversation while the other soldiers look more and more anxious as it goes on. He recognizes them vaugly, he rarely remembers the patients that live. 

Victor takes a step closer, saying something particularly rude judging by how the soldiers wince, causing Boss to painfully tug Bat and himself back a pace. He points the gun away from Bat to Victor now. 

Bat thinks he has the gist of what Victor is saying. And he was not going to die by the hands of that prick. 

Boss is oddly small so it's easy to hide a hand behind his back. He awkwardly runs his hand over Boss's thigh and knee. Big Boss thankfully doesn't react outwardly to this, instead he waves the gun slightly. Drawing Victor's eyes away as Bat slides the large bowie knife out of Big Boss's leg strap. Its heavy, not ideal for what he has in mind.

He spins it deftly in his hand to pinch the flat end of the blade. Boss lossesn his grip, allowing Bat to lurch forward and throw it towards Victor. The blade sinks into the assholes shoulder and he falls back with a cry of pain. Boss then shoves him face first into the dirt and leaps over him. He can hear the sound of the other two soldiers getting their shit kicked in as he gets to his knees.

There's a muffled pop, and when Bat looks up, Boss is pulling his other knife across Victor's throat.. 

"Hope you didn't like him too much," Boss says as he wipes his knife on the now dead mans shirt and tucks it into the holster. Doing the same with his second.

"Not particularly." 

They stare at eachother for a few moments. Bat feels hes being evaluated by him as he stands Finally Boss speaks.

"You wanna come with me? Don't have to but..." They look down at Victors corpse and the two unconscious men behind Boss. Bat feels he's reached the event horizon of his life. No turning back now. 

He nods.

 

\-------

"Oooh that was exciting!" Kaz says after Bat finishes. He hadn't moved from his spot on the floor. He was so still Bat thought he had fallen asleep. 

"After that we stole a jeep and rode off into the sunset. He gave me my code name right there,"

Kaz lets of a dreamy, mocking sigh, "Wow that's so romantic!"

Bat kicks him in the side, just above his fresh stitches and Kaz lets out a loud cry of pain along with a few curse words. 

"So what did you think of him when you met him?" Kaz asks, sitting up and moving out Bats reach.

"He was...." Bat pauses, trying to find the right words. There were a lot of ways to describe Boss. He was something beyond human, or at least beyond a soldier. He was a saviour, his saviour, their saviour. Maybe it was a small act to free him from that outpost, to give him a place to call home. There was no hope for him, he was so steeped in war and blood that peace was beyond a joke. A quiet life was nothing but a distant thought. Big Boss was his pillar, he needed that man more than he needed anything. 

No...maybe not just him. 

Kaz was against the oppisite wall of the chopper, relaxed. His face was smeared with a bit of dirt and blood, but the small smile he always wore around him was there. 

He needed Kaz more than anything, he needed both of them.

"...shorter than I expected."

Kaz laughs, a light and beautiful thing.


	2. Smoking Kills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Medic is a quiet boy and 3rd wheel with a lowkey crush on bb

"You have any cigarettes?"

Bat nods, and pulls an unopened pack from his breast pocket. He taps it against his palm twice before opening it, flipping one upside down and passing it back to Boss. 

"You'd think a doctor would drive safer," Miller says under his breath from shotgun, more amused than annoyed.

Bat shrugs in response, they hadn't passed anyone on this shitty dirt road in hours. He could drive with his knees for at least a few seconds. 

The smell of tabbaco smoke drifted forward from the back of the jeep on its way out of the open doors. Bat didn't mind the smell that much but he wished Boss had brought a cigar along. He found the smell of whatever fancy Cuban cigar Boss liked oddly comforting. If he had less pride he would probably have asked Boss to blow smoke in his face a long time ago.

"You smoking now?" Boss asked, leaning between the gap of the two front seats to look at Bat. An amused smile was on his lips.

"No."

His grin widens and he turns to offer Miller a cigarette from the pack, "How about you?"

"Bad for my eyes,"

Boss laughs at that, and sits heavily back in his seat. Already lighting a second one.

"Those will kill you if you smoke them like that," Miller chides.

"I doubt smoke will kill the boss," Bat says softly without thought. Miller gives him an odd look, but Boss lets out a small laugh.

"I'm much more likely to die in a fire." 

"Or from an intestinal parasite," Bat adds with an air of doctoral authority. This causes Kaz to snicker slightly. 

"Old age might get to you before you know it." 

Boss lets out a uproarious laugh that drowns out Bat's small snort. Miller huffs and shoots a glare at Bat, not annoyed enough to turn and glare at Boss as well. 

"Hey let me out up ahead," 

Bat nods and slows the jeep down, switching into low gear and parking it on the side of the road. By the looks of it the three are a few miles out from the target base.

"Will you be able to make it in time?" Miller asks as Boss crawls ungracefully into the front cabin and over him to exit the jeep. 

"Yeah, faster to cut through the jungle here. I'll be on the least protected side. Should make it long before you two get in position,"

Miller pulls the map up and checks their positions as Boss wonders off into the woods. He vanishes into the leaves as if he belongs among the wilderness and trees. 

"Should be another hour in the car, then a short hike to the nest," Miller says as he traces a line to the big circle on the map indicating their target location.

"Will we get there in time to take the target out before night time?"

"Looks like it," Miller leans back in his seat and sighs, "I'll spot first,"

Bat glances over at Miller. The man had been apart of MSF for six months now. Miller joined up when the force only had fifteen or so permanent member, including him and boss, since then the number had risen to about thirty. Quality of life and training had actually improved quiet a lot since he took over a XO. A position Bat had unofficially held in the fact that he put invoices in for most of the living supplies while Boss managed the weapons and rations. It wasn't a bad system of management, but Miller had a natural talent at organization, paperwork, and was surprisingly good at CQC. 

Maybe that was why Boss was so interested in him. Miller was a real catch. 

Bat hides a smile, and presses on the gas. Speeding up to the top speed of 65.

"Uh hey Bat aren't you going a bit fast?" 

He looks over at Miller, who had a death grip on the safety bar and presses harder on the gas. 

"No."

He watches Miller go pale as they hit a large bump, causing the jeep to bounce worryingly

"Y'know these things don't turn well. Now the Boss isn't in the back we could roll."

"I put a sandbox in the back."

A small smirk creeps onto Bat's lips as the sharp turn approaches. If the car flips they would be alright, the trees would stop the roll before they got too hurt. And they would be able to roll the jeep back to the road and continue to their goal. 

He slows down marginally, applying the break and slowly turning the wheel. He can feel the two far wheels lift ever so slightly, and Miller lets out a small yell of fear. 

The jeep straightens out and he returns to max speed. 

"Venom Bat I order you to slow the fuck down," Millee says in a breathless and fearful voice. 

Bat obediently slows down a bit, and Miller sighs im relief. 

"Don't....you ever do that again."

\-----

The sun was going to set in twenty minutes. 

He feels Miller shift beside him, their legs brush together and a shiver runs over him. 

Bat lets out a slow breath, waiting a moment before breathing in through his nose just as slowly.

They had arrived two hours ago and set up quickly. They were positioned on a high cliff overlooking the compound Boss was no doubt waiting for their vall to infiltrate. The idea was for them to kill the commander of this base, and in the ensuing chaos Boss would sneak in and steal the documents to give to a rival outpost a few miles off. The commander was set to arrive sometime near sundown, if they missed this shot that had one more chance early in the morning.

Bat lets out a slow breath through his mouth. Even and relaxed. 

"I think I found Boss." Miller says softly.

He glances over, Miller had his binoculars aimed at the tree line Boss said he was going to infiltrate from. Not focused on where the commander was set to be. Bat wasn't annoyed though, he wouldn't miss. 

"Really?"

"Yeah, 11 O' clock."

Bat aims the scope to the directed area and searches the treeline. It takes a few minutes but eventually he notices a slight movement, and can make out Boss crouching in the shadows of a tree. 

"...wanna shoot at him?" Miller asks in an amused whisper. 

"...Yes, but I think the patrol would notice,"

He aims the scope back towards the entrance of the compound. They do have a job to do.

He hears Miller click on the radio, and begin speaking in a low voice, "Hey Boss, we found you," 

There's a strange echo of the statement from his earphone and he hears Boss snort a bit. 

"You two up on that hill, huh?"

"Yeah!"

"Thought so. Saw the glint of your sunglasses two hours ago,"

He looks over to see Miller scowling. Bat had taken them off and slipped them into the others breast pocket when he was a spotter. Looks like he wasn't quick enough.

"Can Bat shoot at you?"

Boss is silent, seemimg to actually think about it. 

"I'm not shooting at you," Bat breaks in, deciding to put his foot down on such a dumb issue.

"What? Why not? Shoot me."

"No."

"C'mon Bat, shoot at the guy," Miller says, nudging Bat with his knee. 

"No."

"Bat I order you to shoot at me," Boss adds in a surprisingly authoritarian tone.

"I'll shoot myself if you two keep this up,"

Miller snorts, and covers his mouth to keep from laughing. 

"Target spotted," Bat whispers, causing the light atmosphere to dissapate. 

"Shoot when you can," Boss says, and then falls silent. 

Bat follows the jeep with his scops, breathing out slowly. He wasn't overly nervous, just the right amount of adrenaline in his system to keep him awake and alert. But not enough to ruin his concentration. 

His hands are steady, and he knows his aim is true. 

The jeep door opens, and Bat lets out a slow breath. 

He squeezes the trigger, and the man falls to the ground. 

Mission Complete. 

He clicks the safety on and crawls back, away from the cliff edge before sitting up. 

"Lets go."

Miller nods, crawling back into the tree line with him before they stand. Bat slings the rifle over his shoulder and begins making his way through the woods. He can feel Miller watchim him. 

"What?"

The sound of crunching leaves and sticks fills the air.

"You...that was a good shot,"

Bat smiles, feeling an odd sensation in his chest at the compliment.

"Thank you,"


	3. Little by Little, the Bird Makes its Nest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it again at mother base

Bat glances up to see the flap of the tent be silently pushed aside by a lanky blond man. He didn't look hurt, which was usually the reason anyone walked into the medical tent, and didn't greet him at all. He just stared expectantly. 

"Can I help you?" He asks, breaking the awkward silence. Bat didn't recognize him, which wasn't entirely unheard of, Boss always had a couple for hire soldiers around base. Usually a few locals or reputable mercs. Permanent members of MSF he knew very well, being the one who stitched them up. 

Pretty boy says something in Russian, and Bat holds in a sigh. Figures the guy picks the one person in this entire camp that isn't bilingual.

He taps his lips and shakes his head, hoping man can understand his gestures enough to get the idea. Maybe he could flag down someone to translate for him. 

Thankfully, the stranger nods in understanding. With a frown he thinks for a moment before speaking slowly, "Am looking for...Big Boss?" 

His accent is very thick, and is almost laughably sterotypical. Bat gets the feeling he's better at English than he's letting on there's something strange about the way he pronunciats. Nevertheless, he nods and turns a bit to dial Boss on his codec. 

"Hey Boss, whats your location,"

"Wouldn't you like to know,"

Bat holds in another much deeper sigh. Deciding to remain silent until Boss gives him a location, a game the two played surprisingly often. The record of silence before one of them broke was four days and two hours. Boss spoje first. 

He glances over at the man, expecting him to be looking around or maybe sitting in a chair or bed. Instead he is watching him with cold, narrow eyes. Maybe the games could wait. 

"I have a soldier here that wants to talk to you. He's not MSF."

Boss lets out his signature grunt, "What's his name?"

Of course, can't lead everyone who asked for Boss straight there without questions. He turns to the man, "What would Boss know you by?"

An odd smile appears on the man's pale face. It's not quite sinister, bordering on a smirk. It's the sort of look one gets when enjoying and inside joke. 

"Lynx."

Bat feels that the name doesn't fit him at all, but he doesn't pick the names around here.

"Says his name is Lynx, you know him?"

There's a beat of silence on the com before Boss responds, "Yeah I know him, bring him the long way around,"

That was code for lead the guy out to the woods and let Boss deal with him. Usually reserved for spies and teasing new recruits. Maybe this Lynx guy was both.  

"Follow me," He says as he walks past Lynx. The man follows without complaint. 

Bat can see Lynx glancing around camp surreptitiously. He just now notices that the guy is wearing a pair of spurs with his boots. Odd considering the environment, horses aren't particularly effective means of travel. If he was a spy, he seemed like a shitty one. 

He considered making small talk with him, but he didn't know how to breach the language barrier. 

"You close with Boss?"

As if reading his mind, Lynx speaks slowly with clear pronunciations. He walks a bit faster to catch up to Bat and fall in stride next to him, looking up. Lynx is only a few inches shorter than him. Bat notices that he has very thick and full lashes.

No, now is not the time for that. 

"More or less," He replies, not wanting to give too much away or come off overy rude.

Lynx nods, a bit of his platinum blond hair falling onto his forhead before he pushes it back. Looked like he was growing out a crew cut. God dammit he was really cute. Bat looks away, scanning the tree line for the small breach that signified the "Long way around", when he spots it he polietly moves the leafs from the entrance. Signaling for Lynx to walk the path ahead of him. Its too small to walk side by side and he didn't want to be shot by the others six shooter. 

"You look like him," Lynx says absently as he passes, making no objection to going ahead, "Almost fool me!"

Bat shrugs, then realizes Lynx can't see him.

"I get that a lot," He finally says. He wondered how this guy would have greeted him if he let him think he was Boss. 

"You know how Americans are, all look similar."

Bat holds in a a laugh, and opens his mouth to give some witty retort but stops when two familiar voices drift down the path. 

"It's just a stump, Kaz."

"No Snake listen its haunted I swear. Last night I saw lights flashing over here! And soldiers have reported weird noises! It was....a ghost!

Bat rolls his eyes, no wonder Boss made him drag Lynx out here. Boss was gonna ditch him with Miller and his ghost stories. Maybe he would break the news to Miller that soldiers liked to fuck back here. 

"Y'know soldiers like to...hang out over here at night. Haven't you brought a few people back here?"

Looks like boss read his mind. Before he lets Commander Miller make a fool out of himself anymore, Bat brings his hands up and lets out a whistle. The two go quiet.

To most untrained ears the whistle would simple blend into the background of the forest, odd maybe but not notable. Although if a bird enthusuast heard it they would probably wonder what a brown throated sparrow was doing down in South America. Boss probably heard the two coming already, but the distinctive whistle lets Miller know he had company. 

Lynx pauses, and glances back. Confusion about the bird call and concern that the end of the path was up ahead. Soft light from the small clearing creeping in through the trees. Bat makes a shooing motion and Lynx reluctantly steps past the trees and into the clearing. Bat following close behind. 

Boss and Commander Miller were already facing the two as they entered. Standing in the middld of the small clearing around the large, allegedly haunted, stump. Bat couldn't help but notice the way Boss's eyes lit up at the sight of Lynx. Looks like Boss knew this guy well. 

"Glad you made it! Medic can you walk Kaz back to base for me? He's being haunted or something." 

Bat looks to Kaz, he noticed the slight annoyed twitch of his eyebrows but only for a moment before he relaxs. 

"I'm not being haunted! I said-" Kas cuts himself off with a sigh and shake of the head, "We can talk about it later," He finishes with a shrug before leisurely walking towards the path to base. 

"Don't die," Boss adds playfully before turning to Lynx and immediately beginning what sounds like an in-depth conversation completely in Russian. 

Kaz waves a hand, and brushes past Bat towards the opening in the trees. He follows, not like he could eavesdrop on Boss anyway. 

"Do you know that guy?" Kaz asks as soon as their out of earshot.

"No, didn't recognize him."

Miller hums in thought, slowing his steps down to walk only slightly infront of him, "I swear I've seen him around here before. Always goes straight to Boss, but he gets lost way to often for it not to be an accident."

Bat tries to remember if he had seen the man before after all. Maybe in passing or from a distance, but his feautures were kind of plain. Besides the obvious Russian nose and cheekbones he wouldn't be able to pick him out of a crowd of plaincloth for hire soldiers of vauge Slavic heritage.

"You see his spurs?" Bat asks, not wanting the conversation to end just yet. 

Miller lets out a small snicker, "Yeah I did. What the hell was up with that? Horses don't do well in this jungle."

They lasp into a silence, and Bat wishes he was better at talking to people. Suddenly Kaz lets out a small whistle. A very rough imitation of his earlier bird call. He huffs and tries it again, only faring slightly better. 

"How do you do those calls? I've heard them all the time but I've never actually seen you do it."

"I use my hands to do it. Here cup them like this," The two exit the small path, allowing him to catch up and walk beside Miller and show him how to cup his hands. 

"You have to pucker your lips and blow right above your thumbs knuckle like this," Bat raises his hands up and lets out a series of small chips most would recognize as a northern cardinal. 

Miller tries, and all that they hear is awkward silence. 

"Blow air from your throat," Bat offers.

Miller tries again, and produces a high pitched whistle. A wide grin breaking onto his face. 

"Moving your fingers changes the pitch and and notes," he adds, watching Miller try a few more times with varying results.

"Does this actually get birds to come to you?" He asks, keeping dutifully by his side. 

"I've never had one approach, but they reply sometimes."

Miller looks like he's about to say more, but stops when he sees commotion infront of the medical tent. 

Looks like someone shot themselves in the foot. Again. 

"I have to go, Commander Miller. Good luck with your bird calls,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the mgs3 game the game devs called ocelot lynx innthe notes to avoid spoilers or leaks


End file.
